“I Believe That This President Should Be Impeached.” Congresswoman Maxine Waters On Her Plan To Get Trump Out Of Office

I know my friends, family and I are disgusted by the results of our recent presidential election, the executive orders that have passed since Trump took office and the cabinet members and nominations he’s put in place since his first day on the job. But you have to wonder if other politicians feel some type of ire. Are they still willing to give Donald Trump a chance? Are they just going to wait out the next four years? Well, there’s one Congresswoman who is not going to sit idly by.

Maxine Waters has been serving as a Democratic Representative for the past 27 years. She’s advocated against apartheid, opposed mandatory minimum sentencing and now she’s taking on Donald Trump. Waters has never minced words when it comes to Trump. As we reported earlier, when Tamron Hall asked Waters if she were attending the inauguration, Waters said plainly, “I don’t honor him. I don’t respect him and I don’t want to be involved with him.”

Now, according to Teen Vogue, she’s putting her words and feelings into action. On January 31, Waters introduced a bill demanding an investigation into Trump and his cabinet’s ties to Russia. Particularly after Rex Tillerson, the former CEO of Exxon Mobil and Trump’s pick for Secretary of State, refused to denounce Vladimir Putin. In a press conference announcing the bill, Waters said, “In just under two weeks, Donald Trump has unnerved our allies, challenged our values, and brought so much instability and chaos to our country. This chaos is sure to please at least one person- Vladimir Putin.” Waters also said that the investigation would target not only Tillerson but Wilbur Ross and Michael Flynn.

Teen Vogue interviewed Waters recently to discuss the bill and the possible impeachment of President Trump.

Teen Vogue: What urged you to push this bill forward?

Maxine Waters: I’ve introduced legislation to make sure that there is a substantive, thorough investigation of Trump and all of his operatives that fall within this circle of Trump and Putin because not only did they interfere with our election (and we know that they did because our intelligence agencies have confirmed that) but we need to know whether or not Trump and his people were in collusion with them. What did they do? What did they say? Were they involved in strategic planning? How long had this gone on? And what was Paul Manafort’s role in that?

TV: If this bill passes and a thorough investigation is done and obvious and problematic ties are revealed, what do you think the next step should be?

MW: I believe that this president should be impeached. If we discover that there was collusion and that he strategized with and planned with the Kremlin and Putin to undermine our elections in any way to support Trump and undermine Hillary Clinton, and if we discover that there are telephone calls and emails and trips back and forth to Russia, and if we discover that they were involved in exchanging information, etc. he should be impeached. I think we should go for it.

MW: Well, I don’t know and it’s hard to speak for other people except to say that when you get into politics, you’re socialized into the way in how you conduct yourself. We refer to each other as the gentlelady and the gentleman. We use language that has been designed to keep order, and to keep people in line. I don’t subscribe to that. I believe there comes a time when you have to speak truth to power and be honest with the people, and be prepared to confront the kind of evil and criminality and undermining of the Constitution such as I believe this president has done. And if you have to suffer consequences for doing that, so be it. I’m prepared to suffer those consequences.

TV: When you were putting this bill together, what was the response from your Republican and Democratic colleagues?

MW: Well the Republicans are probably just learning about it today. I had with me about 8 or 10 Democrats who, when they learned about it, joined with me to be principle co-authors on the bill. Some people called and said they would’ve met with me last night but they had conflicting schedules. So what we’ll do now is circulate this petition and make sure that everybody sees it and we’ll see who will sign up to go with us to bring it forward.

MW: I am one who believes in the power of the people. I am inspired when I see people hit the streets, who challenge their elected officials, and are willing to stand up and fight. I encourage it. It’s always been a part of who I am and what I do. And I want not only the activists who’ve been involved for some time since Civil Rights, but I also want the millennials and our young people to be inspired by us. I want them to be proud that we’re standing up so they want to join with us, I’m finding that all they’re looking for is some truth.